Implementing a circuit design within an integrated circuit (IC), whether a programmable IC or an application specific IC (ASIC), entails processing the circuit design through a design flow. The design flow includes multiple, different phases performed by an electronic design automation (EDA) system. The phases of the design flow generally include synthesis, placement, and routing.
Throughout the different stages of the design flow, the EDA system may check whether the current state of implementation of the circuit design is meeting established requirements. The EDA system, for example, may perform timing analysis on the circuit design to identify any nets included therein that are not meeting timing requirements for the circuit design.
Modern circuit designs often have aggressive timing requirements. Significant time is spent processing the circuit design through the design flow in an attempt to meet these timing requirements. In order for the circuit design to function as expected once implemented within an IC, any timing violations identified by the EDA system must be addressed.